The Giants' Defensive Utility Man

By

Jonathan Clegg

Dec. 2, 2012 9:00 p.m. ET

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—For Mathias Kiwanuka, it's been a season of ups and downs.

Some weeks, the Giants defender plays in an upright stance from his regular spot at outside linebacker. Other times, such as in last weekend's crucial win over the Green Bay Packers, he lines up with his hand on the ground at defensive end.

In certain situations, he has also been used as an inside rusher on passing downs, a stout bookend in goalline packages and he's been a reliable contributor on special teams.

For some teams, Kiwanuka's inability to hold down a fixed position would be a worrisome sign. But as the Giants prepare to face the Washington Redskins on Monday night, it's becoming clear his versatility is one of the keys to the team's resurgent defense.

"Obviously we use him in a lot of different ways," said defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.

The modern NFL is a game played by specialists. Read the names on almost any roster and you'll find running backs who play only on third downs, cornerbacks who line up solely against slot receivers and defensive ends who take the field exclusively in passing situations.

But in today's game, Kiwanuka is a rare utility player. Last weekend against Green Bay, he played 37 snaps on the defensive line and recorded two of the team's five sacks. In their previous game against Cincinnati, he logged 26 snaps and three tackles at linebacker.

Since he was drafted by the Giants in the first round in 2006, his 62 starts have been divided exactly equally between his two positions—31 at defensive end and 31 at linebacker.

"It's rare, it's not easy," coach Tom Coughlin said of Kiwanuka's ability to switch between two positions. "It's a difficult thing when you sit back and try to assess exactly…how to get your best players on the field. [But] that was a way we could do it."

No matter where he lines up, Kiwanuka poses a matchup problem for opposing teams. At 6-feet-5 and 267 pounds, he has the size to bull past offensive linemen and flatten the passer. But he also has the speed and athleticism to drop back in pass coverage, change directions and move laterally in open space.

Those qualities have helped him become a powerful weapon for confusing quarterbacks. His ability to start plays in one position and move into a different alignment after the snap means the Giants can disguise their defensive formations and disrupt the offense's blocking schemes.

"You don't know if the offense counts him as a linebacker or defensive end, so when he drops his hand down, they don't know if he's going to drop off or rush," Fewell said. "It has an element of surprise to it."

For much of the season, the Giants haven't been able to showcase Kiwanuka's flexibility. Thanks to a rash of injuries at the linebacker position, where Keith Rivers and Jacquian Williams have combined for just 12 appearances, he was required to operate in a stand-up stance for most of the past two months.

But lately, Kiwanuka has received greater license to switch between the two positions of late. The return from injury of safety Kenny Phillips has enabled the team to line up in an unorthodox formation featuring three safeties, which allays concerns over the lack of depth at linebacker.

That flexibility could create problems for Washington when the Giants travel to FedEx Field on Monday night. The Redskins run a read-option offense that has tormented opposing teams this season, but the success of the system relies on quarterback Robert Griffin III correctly reading the movements of the opposing defensive ends.

But the Giants can attempt to bamboozle the rookie passer by moving Kiwanuka between linebacker and defensive end once the ball is snapped—a tactic the Pittsburgh Steelers used to great effect during their win over the Redskins last month.

"That's the flexibility he brings," said Fewell. "Sometimes he can be down and sometimes he can be up. So you never know what you'll get."

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